It seems that nothing is safe from the relentless march of technology. Festivals, usually known for their tents, fires and food that could only be described as savage worthy, are about to be dragged kicking and screaming into the new millennium. This year’s O2 Wireless Festival will be the first in the UK to make use of Near Field Communication (NFC), a new tech that allows you to pay for services by swiping your Wi-Fi or Bluetooth equipped mobile past an NFC enabled device.
The service will initially be trialled with a small number of attendees who will be given special wrist bands that when swiped past an NFC enabled mobile, will grant them access to the backstage hospitality area (and in turn the festival holy grail, clean toilets!).
If the trial is successful, O2 will be looking into using NFC tech as a broader solution for mobile ticketing at festivals in the future, allowing festival goers to simply swipe their handsets past a reader to gain entry. Mobile tickets accounted for £200,000 worth of O2 Wireless Festival tickets sold this year, which suggests the introduction of NFC tech to the equation would prove popular and might further drive mobile ticket sales.
It is possible that NFC could also one day spell the end for cash at festivals, allowing revellers to pay for drinks and food using their mobiles. Sounds like a great idea assuming you can keep your phone from being destroyed by a lethal concoction of mud, rain and booze.
Via O2 official site
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